Israel agrees to allow Syrian troops limited access to Sweida

BEIRUT – Israel has agreed to allow limited access by Syrian forces into the Sweida area of southern Syria for the next two days, an Israeli official said on July 18 after days of bloodshed in and around Syria’s Druze city of Sweida.

“In (the) light of the ongoing instability in south-west Syria, Israel has agreed to allow limited entry of the (Syrian) internal security forces into Sweida district for the next 48 hours,” the official, who declined to be named, told reporters.

Syria’s Interior Ministry spokesperson said on July 18 that government forces were not preparing to redeploy to Sweida province, the state news agency reported.

Syrian troops withdrew from Sweida after a truce was announced on July 16, but clashes resumed late on July 17 between fighters from Bedouin tribes and the Druze – who are part of a religious minority in Syria that has followers in Lebanon and Israel.

The clashes in parts of Sweida province continued into July 18, according to residents of Sweida and Mr Ryan Marouf, the head of local news outlet Sweida24.

Damascus this week deployed troops to Sweida, which is adjacent to territory controlled by Israel, to try to quell some of the most intense internal fighting in Syria since the interim government took power late in 2024.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights monitoring group said the four days of fighting have left at least 300 dead, among them medical personnel, women and children.

Israel became involved in the hostilities on July 16. It said it would not allow Syria’s Islamist-led government to deploy troops to the south, attacked Syrian troops in Sweida and Syria’s Defence Ministry, and struck close to the presidential palace in Damascus.

Describing Syria’s new rulers as barely disguised jihadists, Israel has vowed to shield the area’s Druze community from attack, encouraged by calls from Israel’s own Druze minority.

Israel’s military carried out new attacks in Sweida province overnight.

UN agencies’ concerns

The head of the UN human rights office urged Syria’s interim authorities to ensure accountability and justice for what it said were credible reports of widespread rights violations during the fighting, including summary executions and kidnappings.

At least 13 people were unlawfully killed in one recorded incident on July 15 when affiliates of the interim authorities opened fire at a family gathering, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said. Six men were summarily executed near their homes on the same day.

The UN refugee agency on July 18 urged all sides to allow humanitarian access, which it said had been curtailed by the violence.

Israel’s deep distrust of Syria’s new Islamist-led leadership appears to be at odds with the US, which said it did not support the recent Israeli strikes on Syria.

The US intervened to help secure the earlier truce between government forces and Druze fighters, and the White House said on July 17 that it appeared to be holding.

Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has worked to establish warmer ties with the US, accused Israel of trying to fracture Syria and promised to protect its Druze minority. REUTERS